THE stakes couldn’t be higher for St Michael’s as they face a must-win MacRory Cup knockout clash today (Wednesday) in Pearse Og Park, Armagh at 2pm.
A bruising group stage campaign saw the Enniskillen school finish bottom of Section C, with three defeats from three leaving their dreams of MacRory glory this year hanging by a thread.
Their opponents, St Patrick’s Armagh, come into the tie in formidable form as winners of Section A. Their comprehensive victory over Cookstown, followed by more closely fought wins over OLS Castleblayney and Southwest Donegal have underlined their status as one of the teams to beat in this year’s competition. And in Michael McSorley, who hit 1-3 (2f) against the amalgamated Donegal school and an impressive 1-9 (4f) in their opener over Cookstown, they have a serious scoring threat.
For St Michael’s, a sluggish start in their last outing against St Ronan’s, Lurgan, proved costly, with an early goal leaving Peter Teague’s side chasing the game from the fourth minute.
Reflecting on that performance, Teague felt they failed to capitalise on a favourable first-half breeze, and he’ll know having to play catch-up is something they can’t afford to repeat.
“We know it’s a tough task,” Teague acknowledged. “But we’ve got to knuckle down, learn from what went wrong, and go again.”
Despite their underdog status, St Michael’s will be hoping to rise to the occasion, knowing they’ll be required to produce their best performance of the campaign.
St Michael’s have a proud history in the MacRory Cup, and while this year’s campaign has yet to catch fire, they’ll hope to draw on the tradition of producing big performances when it matters most.
With their season on the line, the question remains: can St Michael’s defy the odds and keep their MacRory Cup hopes alive? It’s all or nothing in Armagh.
To read more on this story see this week’s Fermanagh Herald. Can’t get to the shop to collect your copy? No problem! You can download a copy straight to your device by following this link… Subscribe to current edition
Related posts:
To read more.. Subscribe to current edition
Receive quality journalism wherever you are, on any device. Keep up to date from the comfort of your own home with a digital subscription.
Any time | Any place | Anywhere